Future
by Nesloga
Summary: They dream and wish and imagine; and it's barely enough.
1. Sabo

_Word Count: 1,553_**  
**_A/N: Day thirty of a writing challenge._

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**Freedom:** _noun_. 1. The power or right to speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. 2. The absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.

_Dream:_

While he's in classes Sabo drifts, barely hearing the drawling words of his newest tutor - his parents want him to be more then educated, they want a _genius_. He dreams of wood that creaks, cloth that snaps, people that cheer, and swords that gleam. He dreams of being a pirate. A person that is free, that can sail the seas as they please. Instead of taking notes his book is filled with ideas and plans and doodles.

Where notes on economy and trading should be are the prices of both ships and the raw materials it would take to make one from scratch. In the area that language should occupy is crossed out idea after crossed out idea for a crew name - he wants to be recognized as part of a crew that both helps and hinders where it is appropriate. An assortment of other notes are replaced with pirate trivia; science is forsaken for the formula and mixture of gun powder, mathematics is pushed aside for navigation, and the arts are shunned for doodles of his future nakama.

Everything he does is to reach his final goal, to sail on the freeing seas with his flag snapping proudly in the wind.

It's why he runs away. He abandons the posh life for one of hardship and poverty; training for when he's out at sea with barely anything. He leaves behind his fine sheets, soft clothes, plentiful food, and vast riches for belief, inspiration, and a chance to be free.

When the weather turns south and everything is covered in cold he shivers while dreaming about the life he'll have soon. It's the one thing that keeps him going, his dreams. Or, it was until he spotted him, Ace, who was thrashing a pair of thugs.

Sabo remembers thinking that the other boy was cruel, that his actions were unnecessary. For Ace broke the thugs fingers, snapping them one by one at the joints. He whispered and taunted, telling them that they were scum, filth, and trash. He carefully stepped on their throats as they withered in pain, pressing down _just_ hard enough to cut off all but a sliver of air. Ace was ruthless and Sabo didn't understand, he couldn't. He had been raised in a land of manners and ease where everything was handed to him on a silver platter. Even the short amount of time he spent on the streets wasn't so bad, he had taken a fist full of bellis with him when he left and was able to pay for a decent room at a inn and enough food to fill him.

He also remembers Ace's face when he yelled at him to stop, to leave the thugs alone, because_ hadn't he done enough already?_ His words froze the freckled boy and the thugs, seeing a chance, stood up and fled. Yelling back as they tenderly held their broken fingers that their boss would avenge them, that they would get the _demon spawn, devil child, worthless runt_ back. That's when he finds out that Ace is Gol D. Roger's son, that he was beating the thugs because when he was younger, smaller, weaker - they had beat _him_. Kicking, punching, hitting, and even branding in some areas. They had left him on the edge of death before.

And Ace, Ace is nothing but vindictive then. Because they had hurt him, insulted his mother, and when he was just about to have his revenge after so many years of being defeated this _snot-nosed boy dares to take his prey from him? This child that looks like he had been pampered all his life has the guts to deny him this?_ Sabo is shaking by the time that Ace is done; his eyes have been forced open by the other boy and he hates what he sees.

All around him is filth, dirt, and trash. Nothing of the glorious treasure he had dreamed of. His dreams crack and his resolve with it. He begins to shake, he doesn't notice it until Ace points it out though. His limbs are quivering and tears are barely held back by sheer will power. He feels his life as a pirate slipping from his fingers- turning to smoke before his eyes, when Ace reaches out. Sabo doesn't know why he does but he does, the freckled boy stretches out a hand that is worn with work and tells him softly that _everything will be alright_.

Sabo won't think until months later to ask Ace why he had said those words, why he had comforted him after he had lost him his revenge, but by that time Ace won't remember. Because Ace has done that kind of thing before, he has reached out and helped others. Claiming that it's to repay for the sins of his father, secretly, Sabo thinks that Ace is just that kind of person. That he's just that kind at heart that he would try to comfort a child that had caused him nothing but grief.

Whatever the reason Ace helps Sabo, lending a hand to build him a ramshackle hut when his money runs out, checking in every once in a while to make sure he has food. Ace is a god send, a god send that has similar dreams as him. Ace wants to sail, not for the same reason as Sabo though. No, instead of freedom the freckled boy wants to step out of his father's daunting shadow and show the world that he is more than just the son of Gol D. Roger. That he is his own person. In his mind Sabo thinks that Ace wants to be free as well, but he never voices that thought, the last time that he had tried to explain freedom to Ace the other boy had slumped down and left. Only coming back when his conscious reminded him that Sabo didn't know how to survive quiet yet.

It went like this for close to a year; with Ace helping Sabo and Sabo unknowingly saying something that caused Ace to leave. But he's gotten better at communicating with the other boy, to the point that Sabo would even dare call them friends. So when Ace strolls into his hut with a armful of food he is careful not to set the freckled boy off, instead he smiles brightly and greets Ace. Waving happily as the other boy frowns at him.

He doesn't know why but for some reason that changes things between them, because Ace sticks around longer and starts to talk more. Sharing with Sabo some of his thoughts and hobbies and life in general. They find a balance after a while. They become close friends with a shared dream. They want to own a ship and be pirates, and once they agree they get to work. Stealing and doing odd jobs to earn money for the ship that they will one day purchase.

This goes on for some time where the only thing that Sabo counted was the cash that he and Ace was raising, forgoing keeping track of time. They set up a routine of getting some money, meeting each other, and hiding the bills in their stash. Sabo always thought that he would be the one to break that pattern for one reason or another, but it's Ace that shatters it. Well, Ace and Luffy.

Luffy who will become the final piece in his dream because Luffy turns into his little brother, not by blood but by something stronger. Luffy is his soul's brother, just like Ace is. His goofy, childish, reckless little brother who brings Ace and him joy and light. The addition of Luffy brightens their world; Ace is less tense and Sabo feels a sort of calm settle on him. It's an aura of fun and mischief and protection and love all rolled up into one. It's _Luffy_. The three of them build a tree house together, a place to call their own and plan their futures. For a moment, everything is perfect.

And in the next everything is shattered. The city burns, he's been found, and Ace and Luffy are in danger.

Sabo acts fast, doing the only thing that could help. He leaves, setting sail earlier then they had planned. Because his father wasn't going to stop and Ace and Luffy were in danger if he stayed, he had to leave. As he sets sail Sabo looks to the forest, knowing that Ace, Luffy, and the letter he left are there. Knowing that the three will find each other. For a second, a terribly brief second, Sabo feels freedom. The wind is tugging at his clothes, he can smell salt, and wood creaks beneath his feet. He is content and bliss fills him, but it all bursts into flames, the Tenryubito destroy his ship and everything is on fire and he is _dying_.

But he's okay with that, the only regret that he has is that he's leaving his brothers. Because he's sailed the seas and felt freedom, no matter how short his journey was, and that was enough.


	2. Ace

_Word Count: 1,714_

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**Acceptance:**_ noun. _1. The action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered. 2. Agreement to meet a draft or bill of exchange, affected by signing it.

_Wish:_

Ace remembers the good and the bad as he sets sail. He pastes a smile on his face as he waves goodbye to Luffy while inside he grieves for what will never be. He was supposed to be leaving with Sabo, with Luffy, with his _brothers_. But Sabo is gone and Ace has realized that it's best to leave Luffy behind. Because Luffy is a tornado of emotion and danger; Luffy will shake the very foundations of the world when he finally sets sail, and Ace has to prepare for that. Ace has to venture out and secure a place in the world before his little brother breaks and shatters everything. He needs to have a safe haven carved out, a niche where he can hide Luffy when the world turns it's malicious attention on him.

Because Luffy doesn't plan, but Ace does. Ace stays up late worrying and planning, he's going to make sure that Luffy is never lost to him like Sabo is. He will create fail safe after fail safe to protect his brother, and if he manages it, well, he won't have any regrets.

So when he sails off with the wind blowing in his hair and the pinprick that is Luffy disappearing as the waves take him away, he sighs. His journey is about to begin and he can feel it deep in his bones, that this journey will bring him both joy and sorrow.

In the first week of being away Ace has found that life as a pirate is much like life as a street urchin; at least, they're alike in the fact that he's grimy, lonely, and bored. He feels that he should be happier, that his heart should be soaring in his chest. He's finally free, or so Sabo said. His brother had raved about how setting sail would be the most important moments in their lives. _It'll be like breathing for the first time, Ace. Or seeing light after years of darkness. It will be brilliant and bright and so much more. _He's set sail and he hasn't felt that yet. Ace contemplates that, the absence of the freedom that his brother had chatted on about, and he wonders if there's something wrong with him. If being the son of a demon has somehow left him unable to feel such joy.

Ace doesn't have long to think on this because a storm hits on his eighth day of sailing; a storm that breaks his tiny vessel and leaves him stranded on a island with no name. It's a small thing, for an island that is. With trees that twist and curl, hugging tight to the sides of shallow cliffs and tall rocks. He manages to find a crevice made from two towering stones that provide ample protection from the ongoing storm, he runs to the shelter, settles down, and waits. And as he waits he thinks; tracking his life back to what has been and imagining what will be.

Sabo flashes in his mind, Sabo with a open grin as he regales Luffy -who has an equally joyful smile, with tales of Gold Roger. And Ace can't help the pain that shoots through him when he hears Luffy yell and cheer for the Pirate King. He flinches minutely, and thinks that it goes unseen.

It never does though.

Because Sabo watches over both Luffy and him with eyes like a hawk and catches the smallest thing. So Sabo slowly turns his story telling away from the adventures of the Pirate King and for some reason Luffy allows it - Ace wasn't clued in at that point that Luffy was keener then he seemed. Stories about the Pirate King are swapped out for tales about a trio of brothers; they aren't related by blood, oh no, their ties are closer. For blood brothers can betray and kill and destroy each other with nary a thought, instead they are brothers of the soul. Bond together by a pact that runs soul deep, binding them to each other in a way that floods Ace with warmth, because finally, _finally_, he has a family.

His small family is broken soon after it's made.

Ace rips himself away from those thoughts, refusing to allow himself to wallow in his sorrow. He had promised Sabo to protect Luffy and to do that he had to become a well known pirate before Luffy set sail.

It was for the best.

It's that thought that pushes Ace forward for the next year; tirelessly moving forward, slowly gaining a bounty and stumbling upon a Devil Fruit of his own.

He found it on a non-descriptive island with only a lone tree growing on it. The fact that the tree looked heavily burnt should have been warning enough, but Ace was Ace and the brother of Luffy, Captain _What is That? Can I Eat It?_So he ignored the foreboding signs of destruction and plucked the single spot speckled fruit from the charred tree and bit into it with a hum. Only to choke on the foul taste a moment later.

Unlike Luffy he had working taste buds, so instead of swallowing the terrible fruit he spit it out. Cursing his ill fortune and curiosity. Because it was his curiosity that prompted him to sniff at the strange fruit before taking another bite out of it. It tasted just as foul, and unfortunately this time his instinct wasn't to spit the fruit out but to swallow. When he finally gets over the fact that he just consumed a disgusting thing that couldn't even be considered food he looks around, trying and failing to find anything to wash the terrible taste out of his mouth.

Left with no other choice Ace moved towards the ocean, disliking the fact that he was being forced to drink sea water. And that's how he found out he had eaten a Devil's Fruit, because as soon as he touched the water he felt faint. His energy was sapped away from him and all he could do was stagger away from the waves before collapsing.

Ace swears to never tell anyone how he came across his Devil's Fruit, or how he found out which fruit he ate. Both are embarrassing in their own ways and Ace will take both stories to the grave.

Or, he would of if Whitebeard hadn't proclaimed him his son and inspired him to get another tattoo. His first and second tattoos are memories that he cherishes; because the second is a mark of family and acceptance and a wish that could be fulfilled, while the first marks what was years ago.

It symbolizes a brother lost.

He had stepped into the tattoo parlor mere months after eating the Mera Mera no Mi with a nostalgic rush of memories coursing through his veins. Because Luffy had eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and Ace likes to believe that Sabo would one day find his own Fruit. That together the three of them would of taken the world by storm, anchors or not. He had told the tattooist to use his sharpest needle and darkest ink, to forever etch the letters _ASL_into his skin. Only, it wasn't to be. As soon as the needle pierced his skin and the ink invaded, his body went haywire. His arm turned into flame. The fire licked at the needle, melting it and the ink was burned away in a flash.

Ace was stubborn; he had the tattooist try at least eight times before the man said, no more. Stating that Ace was going to ruin his best needles. He sent Ace away with the letters _AS _inked into his skin. Ace thinks about that for a few months, wondering if it was really his terrible control over fire that stopped the tattoo from being complete or his own subconscious. In the end Ace decides it's his own fault.

That some part of him won't accept it; that tattooing that damning _L _would be cursing Luffy. Because Ace is the Pirate King's son and Luffy is his brother, but the world can never know about either relation. And if it somehow finds out about his father at least his brother will be protected. So he crosses out the _S_, tears pooling in his eyes as he does, and has his name spelled out. He is _ASCE, _and so far, this is the only protection he can afford to his little brother.

It doesn't matter in the end. It doesn't matter that he never had _ASL_ tattooed on his arm because Luffy lets the cat out of the bag. Shouting _that they are brothers and that he will die for Ace. _Ace's heart is warmed by his brother's words; it is warmed as it is simultaneously frozen with fear as the world finds out Luffy's connection to him. But it turns out that Luffy doesn't need his protection anymore, because the rubber idiot yells and shouts and uses _Haki_ of all things to bring the marines to their knees.

Ace is saved and free and as the chains fall away and Luffy is at his side and his nakama cheer and he feels that perfect feeling that Sabo had described.

His heart is filled with warmth, warmer then even his fire, and he feels accepted. These people, his nakama, his brother, his father and siblings are putting down their lives because they want him to _live_. His secret wish is finally answered; he's found a place in the unforgiving world. A place that doesn't care that he's the son of a demon, they only care that he's Ace and they want him alive. They want him to feel and breath and experience.

His wish is granted and he can die without regrets.

He hugs his brother, dear little Luffy who had smiled at him and _believed._ He protects Luffy and he feels even warmer and thinks he hears Sabo as he thanks his family for loving him. His wish was fulfilled, he's kept his promise to Sabo, and he's protected Luffy. It's enough.


End file.
